Sound reproducing apparatus



April 1936- M. W. SCHELDQRF 29@36v832 SOUND REPRODUCING APPARATUS FiledOct. 30, 1934 IM/E/vm/a: film/Mei 15v @MMM W Patented Apr. 7, 1936UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOUND REPRODUCING APPARATUS tion of DelawareApplication October 30, 1934, Serial No. 750,632

9 Claims.

This invention relates to sound reproducing apparatus, and moreparticularly to a carrying case and mounting for sound translatingdevices, such as loudspeakers.

In certain types of sound reproducing apparatus, such as public addresssystems which are frequently of a portable nature, it is desirable tomake the equipment as compact as possible. This is particularly true ofthe loudspeaker units which should be in a form such that they may beeasily transported from one location to another and easily set up foruse at any desired or advantageous points.

Public address systems in use at present are usually provided with atleast a pair of loudspeakers. It has been customary to house thespeakers in casings of the suit case type with the vibratable elementsof the speakers facing outwardly. Casings of this type, however, aresubject to several disadvantages. In the first place, it is necessary toprovide an outlet for the sound on the outside of the casings, and thissubjects the speakers to the possibility of injury during transit unlessprotective coverings for the outlets are provided. Furthermore, it ishighly desirable, from an artistic standpoint, to provide a decorativefinish for the outside of the casings since they face the audience, andvery frequently this finish is marred, if not entirely destroyed, duringtransit, despite the precaution observed to avoid this. Moreover, withloudspeaker mountings heretofore employed, wherein the loudspeakers areplaced back to back, the easings must necessarily be of considerabledepth and this makes it cumbersome to carry the units. Where, as in someinstances, the casings are made separable at the hinges, it has beenfound that the separated casing units are per se unstable when set upfor use and can easily be upset, so that further danger of injuryexists. Often, too, it is not possible to conveniently set up thespeakers on a level with the listeners ears. With speaker mountings ofthe type heretofore employed for public address and the like systems andwherein I the speakers were disposed with their axes normal to theoutside surfaces of the casings, much of the output was lost to theaudience. These and other disadvantages are characteristic of prior artconstructions, and the primary object of my invention is to provide animproved loudspeaker casing and mounting which will not be subject toany of the aforementioned disadvantages.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved carrying casefor loudspeakers which will be of minimum depth consistent withsturdiness and which can be easily and conveniently carried about.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improvedmultiple-part carrying case for loudspeakers which can be set up withgreat ease and of which the individual or separated parts will not beeasily upset when once set up for operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved loudspeakercarrying case and speaker mounting which can readily be accommodated toany available or convenient location for installation and which can beset up at such location to direct the reproduced sound toward the earsof the listeners, regardless of whether this location is at the levelof, below or above the listeners ears.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide an improvedloudspeaker carrying case wherein the speaker units will not be subjectto injury during transit and wherein those portions of the casingdesigned to face the audience may be made highly decorative or artisticwithout danger of mar-ring or destruction.

It is anoth r object of my invention to provide an improved portableloudspeaker carrying case which is sturdy in construction, economical ofmanufacture, and highly efficient in use.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a twopart casing split alonga bias or plane substantially diagonal to one surface thereof instead ofalong a plane centrally thereof whereby to provide a pair ofsubstantially wedge-shaped casing parts. These two parts are connectedtogether by means of separable hinges and the loudspeakers are mountedin the wider portions of the wedges with their vibratable elements ordiaphragms facing the dividing plane.

The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inventionitself, however, together with additional objects and advantagesthereof, will best be understood from the following description of aspecific embodiment, when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved casingwith the parts closed,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof with the casing parts separated andshowing the manner of mounting the loudspeakers therein, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the casing parts showing one way inwhich it may be set up for use to direct the reproduced sound toward thelisteners ears.

Referring more specifically to the drawing wherein similar referencenumerals designate corresponding parts throughout, there is shown acarrying case I of rectangular parallelepiped form divided into twowedge-shaped casing parts la and lb by a plane normal to and extendingsubstantially diagonally across a pair of opposite faces 3 and 5 andrepresented by the dividing line 1 on the face 3, the parts la and lbeach constituting a substantially right-angled wedge including theright-angularly related faces 9 and l I and the inclined face l3. Thecasing parts la and lb may be separably connected together by means ofthe separable hinges l5 and releasably locked together fortransportation by suitable catches or the like H, the handles I9 beingprovided whereby to carry the entire assembly or casing.

Adjacent the widest portion of each of the wedges la and lb, there ispermanently mounted a loudspeaker 2] with the vibratable element ordiaphragm of each loudspeaker directed toward the inclined face l3 ofeach casing part, the faces l3 each being provided with an opening 23for the egress of sound reproduced by the respective loudspeakers. Whenthe parts la and lb are assembled, the loudspeaker diaphragms each facethe common plane represented by the line i and there is no danger of theloudspeakers being injured during transit. Also, since the faces l3 areinside of the casing when the casing parts are assembled, there issimilarly no danger of marring the decorative finish usually formedthereon or the usual grillwork covering the openings 23. Safety of theworking parts of the unit and of the decorative faces l3, which face theaudience during operation of the loudspeakers, is thus assured.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that I have provided acompact, sturdy loudspeaker carrying case which can be assembled withgreat facility and carried about with considerable ease and withoutdiscomfort. If it is found necessary to set up the loudspeakers belowthe level of the listeners ears, the casing parts may be rested on thefaces 9, as in Fig. 2 or on the faces II, as in Fig. 3, whereupon thesound is directed upwardly toward the audience. When set up on one ofthe faces 3 or 5, there is little, if any, danger of accidentallyupsetting the unit by reason of the fact that the face I l isconsiderably wider than the opposite face. Also, the overall depth of myimproved casing is considerably reduced from those of prior art casingswherein it has been necessary to provide a depth substantially twicethat of the face ll of my improved carrying case in order to accommodatethe loudspeakers.

Although I have shown and described but one embodiment of my invention,I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. Myinvention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as isnecessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a carrying case for loudspeakers comprising a pair ofseparable casing parts each of wedge-shaped configuration, and at leastone loudspeaker mounted in each of said casing parts, the vibratableelement of each of said loudspeakers facing a common plane.

2. In combination, a carrying case for loudspeakers comprising a pair ofseparable casing parts each of wedge-shaped configuration, meansseparably connecting said casing parts, said parts together constitutinga parallelepiped when assembled together, and at least one loudspeakermounted in each of said casing parts, the vibratable element of each ofsaid loudspeakers facing a common plane.

3. In combination, a carrying case for loudspeakers comprising arectangular parallelepiped divided into two casing parts along a planesubstantially diagonal to one of the faces of the parallelepiped, meansseparably connecting said casing parts along the line of intersection ofsaid dividing plane and said face, and a loudspeaker mounted in each ofsaid casing parts with the vibratable element of each of saidloudspeakers facing said dividing plane when the casing parts are inassembled relation.

l. The invention set forth in claim 3 characterized by the addition ofmeans for releasably securing the casing parts together.

. In combination, a carrying case for loudspeakers comprising arectangular parallelepiped divided into two wedge-shaped casing partsalong a plane substantially diagonal to one of the faces of theparallelepiped, means separably connecting said casing parts, and a loudspeaker mounted in each of said casing parts at the wider portions ofthe wedges, the vibratable element of each of said loudspeakers facingsaid dividing plane when the casing parts are in assembled relation.

6. The invention set forth in claim 5 characterized in that the adjacentfaces of the wedges are provided with openings for the egress of soundemitted by the loudspeakers.

7. In a loudspeaker carrying case, the combination of a right-angledwedge-shaped casing part, and a loudspeaker mounted therein adjacent thewidest portion of the wedge with the vibratable element thereof directedtoward the inclined face of the wedge, said casing part forming, with asimilar casing part, a component part of the loud speaker carrying case.

8. In combination, a carrying case for loudspeakers comprising a pair ofseparable, interfitting casing parts, said parts constituting aparallelepiped when assembled together and each of said parts having aface angularly related to one side of the parallelepiped, meansseparably connecting said casing parts, and at least one loudspeakermounted in each of said casing parts, the vibratable element of each ofsaid loudspeakers facing adjacent faces of said casing parts when inassembled relation.

9. In combination, a carrying case for loud speakers comprising a pairof separable, interfitting casing parts, said parts constituting aparallelepiped when assembled together and each of said parts having aface angularly related to one side of the parallelepiped, meansseparably connecting said casing parts, and at least one loud speakermounted in each of said casing parts, the vibratable element of each ofsaid loud speakers facing the angularly related face of its associatedcasing part.

MARVEL W. SCHELDORF.

